Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Pre-Selling Domain Names?

Posted by Cliff on from the don't-let-yours-get-swiped dept.

Allnighterking asks: "Within the last 24 hours I've been the unwitting victim of a new practice by any number of domain registrars. The concept of pre-selling domain names before they expire. Go to any of the more popular domain registrars and start searching for domain names. You will find dozens of them for sale -with the date they will expire clearly listed-. In my case yes, I was negligent in not renewing. I also did not receive notice that it was to expire either. The day after it expired (or more like 8 hours after). I found out that I was no longer the owner of a domain I've owned for over 3 years, that this domain is now the 'property' of a domain squatter selling google adds on my hard earned search engine status. What can be done? Do we have any recourse?" "Perhaps this is just another case of ICANN , you can't.

Apparently, the sale of expired domains is big business. See this google search for more. It leaves one to wonder what would have happened a few years ago when Hotmail expired. Would Microsoft have been stuck? Or would they be doing what I've been asked to do: pony up 20k to get my domain back!"

8 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Just don't be an idiot by LordNimon · · Score: 4, Informative

    Register your domain with a reputable registrar, one that either auto-renews or reliably tells you when it's about to expire, and you won't have any problems.

    --
    And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
    To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
    1. Re:Just don't be an idiot by Malor · · Score: 4, Informative

      Namecheap seems quite good. I like their site layout a lot. Everything makes sense and is easy to do... and if for some reason you're confused, they even have tutorials available. They also offer WhoisGuard, which anonymizes your contact information through a remailer. This means people can still contact you if there's a problem with a domain, but they don't automatically get your real name, address, and email.

      They're also, as their name implies, quite cheap. $8.88/yr for domains, and another $5/year or so for WhoisGuard, if you want that. They offer many free services as well, like domain website redirection and good DNS management.

      I haven't seen them do anything even REMOTELY duplicitous or sneaky.

      Joker.com was my prior registrar. They are also good, completely non-sneaky, and inexpensive. They probably cost a little more than Namecheap does now, because of the decline in the U.S. dollar. I switched because Joker had nothing like WhoisGuard at the time. (I don't know if they do now or not.) I'm happy with Namecheap, but I'd use Joker again anytime.

      I believe Namecheap is an eNom reseller, so they are a relatively small outfit, without the infrastructure of 'real' domain registrars, like Joker. The Namecheap site is better-designed and much easier to navigate, and they have a few features Joker doesn't. Joker can be downright cryptic at times. Everything works and does what it should, but the interface is 'early Linux desktop'... clunky and strangely laid out. Namecheap is extremely polished in comparison. That said, I've seen Namecheap's web redirects get squirrely a couple of times.

      I used Network Solutions for many years, as well. They have a good interface and extremely robust infrastructure, but they're expensive. They're also complete bastards, and try to upsell you in unscrupulous ways. I suggest avoiding them. GoDaddy is another very bad outfit. And their CEO advocates torture. (he thinks we're not hard enough in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib). I suggest never, never using them.

      On the whole, if you're running a small to medium site, Namecheap may be one of your best choices. If you're running a big setup, particularly if the registrar is redirecting your website or hosting your DNS, you'd probably be better off with Joker's superior infrastructure.

  2. Network Solutions just screwed us too by dtfinch · · Score: 5, Informative

    Our business name is "ICW International" and they stole icwinternational.com from us by refusing to let us pay to renew it, even before it expired. Now it's still under their ownership, but they've turned it into ads. Their phone support has refused to help us. They'll give it back for several hundred $, but they've cost us a great deal more over their rotten, criminal business practices.

    1. Re:Network Solutions just screwed us too by dtfinch · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I attribute it more to incompetence than malice. They had it locked so we couldn't transfer it. Backordering hasn't worked. Their last response was to use their "make a certified offer" and offer enough to make them want to switch it back. The root of the problem was that the original developer of the site registered the domain several years ago, forgot the login password, changed his home address and phone number, and changed his email address. This is just enough to break all of Network Solutions' procedures for verifying that it's our domain. We've been fighting with them a couple months, calling several times a week. It should be bloody obvious to them that it's our domain. If it wasn't, it's already expired so they could just sell it to us. If they don't let us buy it back, we'll file a UDRP complaint, which'll cost us a couple thousand $ more.

    2. Re:Network Solutions just screwed us too by dtfinch · · Score: 4, Informative

      Watching over our domains wasn't ever my job, and blame isn't really a concern at this point. We just want our domain. We've been trying to renew it for months, and now it's expired and they won't even sell it to us. Additionally, because the domain name is our business name, and they know it, and they're using our brand recognition for advertising profit at our expense (the ad page says "Copyright Network Solutions, LLC"), they seem to be in violation of at least the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, and perhaps other laws.

  3. If all else fails ... kick and scream. by bgramkow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unfortunately, there isn't a lot that can be done about this. Most domain registrars no longer send out notices when your domain is about to expire. To make things worse, if your information (contact info, etc) in the registrars database is incorrect they may cancel your domain within 15 days if you don't respond to their notice. I've read that ICANN started requiring registrars to contact customers yearly regarding domain status, but this doesn't seem to be enforced.

    As far as what you can do, I suppose the going rate for bulk prevention is still about 16 times that of bulk cure.

    Try to keep track of domain names and expiration dates. Consider consolidating domains if you own more than one. Renew early and/or for a longer time period. If nothing else, search the net and try to buy a domain ... yours.

    Verify the owner information with the registrar. For businesses the corporate owner or other company personnel should be listed as the domain owner. (NOT the company name or the name of an outside web designer) Remember this is the person who will be authorized to make changes, renew, etc.

    Make sure that you're getting the registrar's emails. Don't give the registrar an email address you may not have in a few years. Add the registrar's domain to your email account's no spam list.

    Oh and one more thing: Send a nasty email to your domain registrar from a throwaway email account. That ALWAYS works.

    --
    ... IMHO, of course.
  4. From "How To Snatch Domain Names" by Goo.cc · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here is a quote from an excellent article from Mike Davidson's Blog where he talking about how domain names expire:

    "Contrary to popular belief, domains do not expire when they say they do. If the owner of a domain does not renew by the expiration date of the domain, the domain goes into "expired" status. For 40 days, the domain is in a grace period where all services are shut off, but the domain owner may still renew the domain for a standard renewal fee. If a domain enters this period, it is a good first indicator that it may not be renewed, but since the owner can re-register without penalty, it can also just be a sign of laziness or procrastination.

    After 40 days are up, the domain's status changes to "redemption period". During this phase, all WhoIs information begins disappearing, and more importantly, it now costs the owner an additional fee to re-activate and re-register the domain. The fee is currently around $100, depending on your registrar. When a domain enters its redemption period, it's a good bet the owner has decided not to renew.

    Finally, after the redemption period, the domain's status will change to "locked" as it enters the deletion phase. The deletion phase is 5 days long, and on the last day between 11am and 2pm Pacific time, the name will officially drop from the ICANN database and will be available for registration by anybody."

  5. register.com by DRue · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I receive a lot of snail-mail deceptive advertising from register.com, and I would never use them.

    Godaddy works for me, and is less than a third of the price. They are the largest domain registrar out there now, and I don't worry about my domains at all.

    Network Solutions is the devil.